A few years ago I was hiking in one of the more remote sections of the Great Smokey Mountains and because of the long drive to get to this section of the park I knew that I would probably never hike in this area again. I was doing a section of the Appalachian Trail that led to the Shuckstack Fire tower and I was excited because the trail book said from the top of the tower you had a great view of Fontana Lake which was created by Fontana dam which is the largest dam at its altitude east of the Mississippi. When I arrived at the fire tower I set down by backpack and started to make the 80 foot climb to the top.
The tower is an open iron stairwell with old wooden boards and the first few sections weren’t too bad, but as I got higher, the stairs got narrower and I could feel the entire thing moving with me and as you can see there is nothing to really protect you so about half way up I decided I’d gone far enough. The problem was that from where I was I couldn’t see much above the trees. So I slowly made my way up another section of stairs so I was about half way and I sat down. As I looked around I was glad I at went a little higher because from that landing I could at least get a glimpse of one section of the lake. After sitting there for a few moments I climbed down and was ready to leave when I though to myself that I was probably never going to be back to that spot again in my life and I hated to think that I didn’t make it to the top of the tower. As I was debating what to do I glanced down and realized I was wearing a t-shirt that said “no fear”. So I put down my backpack again, and started up the stairs.
Now the second time up I knew I could get to the landing I on had been on before without any problem, so I got that high and then as I made my way up the last 4 sections I kept looking straight out – not down – and on every step said, help me God, help me God, help me God, help me God. And God did. I made it to the top of the tower and the view was amazing.
Last week, we heard Jesus call Peter to drop his nets and follow him, and Peter did just that, and I have to think that for Peter there was some fear and trembling in making that decision. For all of the disciples and for everyone who followed that same call, there was a certain excitement and fear that came in following Jesus because they were leaving behind everything they knew and all that was comfortable to begin a journey of living life on the edge. Following Jesus they were going to see miracles and majesty and mayhem. They would see Jesus praised and cursed, they would experience the thrill of huge crowds and the questions of loneliness, rejection and isolation. Life was going to get exciting and dangerous and it would be anything but dull. Following Jesus should be anything but dull and my hope is that in the next month we will turn to follow Jesus in a way that we will help us experience life on the edge.
If you want this kind of experience, if you want this kind of life and faith then I want to invite you on this journey through Romans 12 and it all starts in Romans 12:1. When Paul says that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice he is saying that we need to give our entire lives to God – we are talking about a total commitment here or complete surrender. To surrender to God means to give God all that we hold dear, all that we find comfort in, everything in this world that gives us strength and peace and all that we trust in so that we can trust completely in God, and while surrender is not easy, it is the first step to living on the edge because when we surrender to God we will end up doing things we never dreamed possible. We will be living a life that will make our hearts beat faster, our minds and mouths utter “help me God, help me God” at every step and yet in it all we will find power and joy.
So how do we get this surrendered life? What does it look like? Jesus gives us the answer in 2 parables he tells in Matthew 13:44-46. To surrender to God means to be willing to give up everything we have in order to grab hold of all the life God has to offer. I think Matthew understood the power of these stories because this was his life. Matthew was a tax collector and had a good, safe and prosperous life, but when Jesus called out to him it says Matthew got up and left his tax booth. Now for a tax collector to leave his booth meant he was quitting his job completely. Matthew would never be able to return to the tax business or to the safety and security that the money and position brought him, but like the man who found the treasure in the field – Matthew gave it all up because he could see that what Jesus offered was so much better, and that is the key to surrendering to God. We will commit ourselves completely to Jesus when we see the riches and the power that could only be found in following Jesus into God’s kingdom and presence.
Too many times we struggle with surrendering ourselves to God because we don’t see the riches of a life lived with God and we don’t see those riches because if we are honest we question God’s love and care for us. The reason we have a hard time surrendering to God is because we really don’t believe that God wants what is best for us or that God even knows us and knows what we want in life. Think about it, we don’t want to surrender because when we think surrendering to God we think it only means sacrifice and suffering. We think of all those things God is going to ask us to give up but we never think about all the things that we are going to receive. It’s a sad statement about our understanding of God if all we think about is suffering and loss when we think of surrender.
In Jesus’ parables the people are willing to sell all they have because they know that there is something even better waiting for them. They surrender everything to get a treasure and this needs to be our motivation in surrendering to God. We surrender to God not out of duty or obligation but because we know the God who created us loves us so much that he is just waiting to give us all the fullness of life. So when we hear the word surrender we need to think not of loss but love, not pain but power, not giving up but being filled up, and not trials but treasure. These parables tell us that we need to redefine surrender so that we see the riches of life that comes when we give ourselves to God.
Paul is trying to tell us the same thing in Romans 12. If we were to go back and read Romans 1-11, we would see that Paul has taken his readers on a journey to show them just how good and loving God is. In Romans 1-3 Paul outlines the problem we all face which is that we are all sinners (3:10-12).
The solution for this problem was to send Jesus to die for our sin (5:18).
God then gives us the power of his spirit to help us experience freedom and life in this world (8:1-2).
And God remains faithful to all people offering salvation and grace (10:13).
What Paul has done in Romans 1-11 is to show us just how amazing God’s grace and love for us really is. When we were dead in our sin and unable to do anything about it - God stepped in and saved us and everyday God holds out his hand of grace and mercy and offers us His power in every situation so we can experience freedom and fullness in life and it is because of this great love of God that we can surrender ourselves to Him. Romans 12:1 and this call to surrender only comes after Paul has shown us the love and power of God. So we commit ourselves to God completely because God has given us the treasure of forgiveness, grace, strength and life.
So we surrender to a God who loves us and wants so much more for our lives, but again, what does this kind of surrender look like? The truth is that a surrendered life looks different for each and every one of us. For me, a surrendered life started on the campus of MSU one October afternoon when I finally realized that I would rather live my life with God than without him because with God there is life and without him there is only death. So I said yes to God. But here’s the thing, while surrender does call for us to make a clear decision at some point in time, it is not a once and done decision. I surrendered to God in October of 1982, but about 10 years later I had to surrender again and do one of the things I said I would never do and that was go to Seminary. I never wanted to go to seminary and I thought I would be miserable doing it, but when I surrendered to God and realized that it was his plan for me, my heart changed. Seminary was hard work at times, but I loved learning about God and growing in my understanding of the church.
But you see surrender is an ongoing way of life. When I started in seminary I didn’t know what kind of ministry I wanted to pursue, I just knew that I wasn’t going to be a local pastor. I would do anything but that, but when I took a position as an intern in a local church - God changed my heart. I loved being in the local church so surrendering to that journey was a joy, but even as a pastor God has continued to call me to surrender. Leaving a congregation in Lewisburg to come to Faith Church required me to once again surrender what was safe and comfortable and fulfilling and step out in faith trusting that the treasure God had for me was better, and I have to say – it was. The joy and power of coming here and seeing God at work among us has been a blessing and it is a treasure.
Surrendering to God isn’t one big step we take once in our lives, it is a series of steps we take as we allow God to give direction to our lives. It means giving up control and stepping out in faith to connect and serve and grow. It means giving up some of our time and energy and money to support the work of God here and around the world and it means being part of that work in real ways so that we can see the power of God transform hearts and the world around us.
While surrender is a series of steps – it does require a decision. When Paul says to present our bodies as a living sacrifice – it is a command to give all that we are and all that we have and all that we want to be to a God who loves us and wants more for us.
If you are here today, you have already taken at least one step in surrendering your life to God – you are here. You heard a call of God to be in this place at this time and to open yourself up to His presence, so I just want to invite you to take another step and surrender your heart and life to God. Maybe you have been attending church your entire life and been going through all the motions but have never really experienced the thrill of living on the edge with God, maybe you have experienced church but never the power of Christ, if that is where you are then I want to invite you to surrender and begin to live life on the edge with Jesus. Maybe today is your first day in church or your first visit to Faith Church, that’s ok, I want to invite you too to surrender to a God who loves you more in this moment than can possibly imagine and I want to invite you take this first and necessary step in following Jesus and living life on the edge.
Before we surrender to God in a time of prayer, I want us to look at Psalm 84:8-12. As we turn to God we need to remember that God loves us so much that he will not withhold any good thing from us. We can freely and fully surrender to God today because he is our sun and shield and so much more treasure to share with us, so let us give everything to God so that we experience the fullness of life lived with God which really is a life lived on the edge.
As we pray, I want to invite you to just hold your hands out before you palms up as a sign of surrender. Opening our hands to God is just another way to let go of all that we hold on to – or to surrender ourselves completely to God. So let us present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God – this surrender of our hearts and lives is all that God really wants and it will be the beginning of living life on the edge.
